Leasing or buying a laptop? How it works out for your business

Written on 16 September 2026

Setting up a new workstation is a sizeable investment, certainly if several laptops are needed. Leasing then looks attractive because you spread the cost per month and outsource the management.

In this article I work out leasing, renting and buying side by side, including what sits inside that monthly amount. You also read where the tax side begins and where your accountant takes over.

How does leasing a laptop work?

When you lease a laptop you enter into a lease contract with a leasing company and pay a fixed amount per month for the use of the hardware. The leasing company stays the owner, and at the end of the term the laptops go back.

Usual terms run from 24 to 48 months, with 36 months the most common choice. In many contracts service and sometimes software licences sit inside the monthly amount, so repairs and replacement are arranged and the cost stays predictable.

The monthly amount is determined by the purchase value, the term and the residual value the leasing company expects at the end. The higher that residual value, the lower your monthly cost, because you only pay for the drop in value over that period.

Operating lease, renting or build to order: what is the difference?

An operating lease is the form you come across most often with laptops. In most small-business accounts the hardware does not appear on your balance sheet, maintenance is often in the contract, and you pay purely for use. If you report under IFRS that does not hold and virtually all leases do go on the balance sheet.

You rent laptops for shorter periods. Think of a three-month project, a temporary worker or an event, where a three-year lease contract does not fit.

Build to order means a supplier builds the machines to your specification and sometimes offers a financing arrangement as well. That gives you exactly the configuration you want, at the cost of a longer lead time.

With a finance lease you effectively buy the hardware with a loan and become the owner at the end. You see that form less with laptops than with cars or machinery, because the residual value after three years is limited.

What do leasing and buying cost over the term?

Always compare the options on the total, and not on the cost per month. This example assumes five workstations over 36 months.

The difference between the first and the last line is the core of this subject. For the amount of a three-year lease contract you buy a refurbished fleet that you keep, and with the entry-level models even two.

On top of that, with leasing you keep paying every month as long as the contract runs, while purchased laptops cost nothing per month after the purchase. Only repairs outside the warranty still count then.

What are the advantages of leasing laptops?

Cash flow is the strongest argument. A start-up that needs ten workstations keeps money free for stock, staff or marketing with a fixed amount per month. Such a monthly payment gives predictable costs and keeps your cash flow and financial planning manageable, without a large peak in one financial year.

The second advantage is flexibility in management. With a growing team you scale the number of laptops along, keep the monthly cost under control and get the newest technology with every round, while the leasing company replaces everything in one go at the end of the term.

For larger organisations lifecycle management counts heavily: managing the whole life cycle, from rollout and inventory to repairs, replacements and collection in a fixed process. Every lease period brings new models, so the technologically newest laptop arrives without you drawing up a replacement plan yourself.

Leasing also takes a task off your plate: the hardware stays up to date without anyone in your organisation having to draw up a replacement plan. That predictability, with the leasing company carrying the administration as a service provider and remaining the owner of the device, is worth the convenience to some businesses.

What do you run into with a lease contract?

You are contractually tied to the term. If a project ends or your team shrinks, the monthly amount keeps running until the end date, and anyone extending or stopping in between runs into the conditions; a short-term rental contract then suits better.

The condition on collection is a point of attention too. Damaged or missing devices are settled at the end, and those costs are not in your budget.

With small numbers the sum is least favourable. Below ten workstations you do not need a rollout process, so you are mainly paying for a service you do not use.

When does renting a laptop make sense?

Renting a laptop suits a need with an end date. For a project of a quarter, an intern or a peak in your workload you do not enter into a three-year contract.

When renting business laptops you pay per week or per month, and you pay for the use without residual value or depreciation coming into it. That makes the sum simple and the daily rate high.

That flexibility is exactly what you are paying for. If the need runs longer than six months, leasing a laptop or simply buying one quickly becomes cheaper than renting.

Renting and leasing are used interchangeably, and the distinction sits in the term and in who carries the maintenance. Always ask a provider what happens if a device breaks down.

How does it work for VAT and depreciation?

A business laptop is a business expense, and that holds for both routes. The difference is in how that expense lands in your accounts: as depreciation on your balance when buying, or as separate payments you book under operating costs when leasing.

If you buy the laptop, you book a small amount against your profit in one go and depreciate a larger investment over several years. The threshold and the depreciation period are set by your national tax authority, and your accountant knows which applies to your situation. The sources below are the Dutch rules.

Anyone leasing books the instalments as operating costs in the year they are paid. That makes the bookkeeping predictable, without depreciation and without a residual value on your balance sheet.

You reclaim VAT in both cases if you are a VAT-registered business: with buying in one go on the invoice, with leasing per instalment. Make sure the invoice is in the name of your business, because that is the first thing an inspection looks at.

Why is buying refurbished the third scenario?

The leased laptops that come back at the end of a lease contract are cleaned up and resold. Those are exactly the business top series you can buy as a refurbished laptop: a Lenovo ThinkPad, an HP ZBook or a Dell Precision.

Those machines are built for large fleets and years of daily use, and they are designed to be repaired. That is why they last for years after their first life, which saves on the e-waste pile instead of having a new laptop produced every time.

Financially you are doing something other than spreading: you pay a lower purchase price for the same class of hardware, the cost-effective choice because the fastest depreciation is already behind it. At DSL Tech you get 2 years of warranty on it, which covers the risk of second-hand hardware.

If you want to see how big that price difference is, read on in refurbished versus new.

When do you choose what?

In my experience leasing only starts to pay off from around ten workstations, at organisations that want to replace their hardware every three years and outsource the management. You then buy the higher total cost deliberately, in exchange for peace of mind.

Renting laptops is the choice for a temporary need, for example a project or a seasonal worker.

Buying suits virtually every freelancer and small team, and refurbished makes that attractive because the amount stays limited. If you need a laptop now but want to spread the expense, you can pay in three instalments without entering into a three-year contract. That way you can pay for a laptop in instalments and still own it straight away, instead of leasing for years.

In brief

Leasing lowers your monthly cost and raises the total, because interest, service and margin sit in the fixed amount per month. It pays off from around ten workstations, when lifecycle management and outsourcing the administration genuinely deliver something. Buying is cheaper over the term and makes you the owner, and with refurbished business laptops the amount stays so limited that for the price of a three-year lease contract you buy a fleet you keep. Always have the tax side, from depreciation to VAT, confirmed by your accountant. More about the business choice is in buying a business refurbished laptop.

Why refurbished at DSL Tech?

Every laptop at DSL Tech is checked on more than 30 points and comes with a 2-year warranty. Customers rate us 9.0 on average, you pay securely by iDEAL or in three instalments with in3, and order before 12:00 and your laptop arrives tomorrow.

This article is part of our complete guide buying a refurbished laptop, with grades, warranty, the right specs and the brands set out side by side.

Sources

• Dutch tax authority: investing in business assets and depreciation
• Dutch tax authority: deducting VAT as a business